Erich Fromm Archive

1900-1980

The most important misunderstanding seems to me
to lie in a confusion between the human necessities which I consider part
of human nature, and the human necessities as they appear as drives,
needs, passions, etc., in any given historical period. This division is
not very different from Marx’s concept of “human nature in general”,
to be distinguished from “human nature as modified in each historical
period.” The same distinction exists in Marx when he distinguishes
between “constant” or “fixed” drives and “relative” drives. The
constant drives “exist under all circumstances and ... can be changed by
social conditions only as far as form and direction are concerned.” The
relative drives “owe their origin only to a certain type of social
organization.” Human Nature and Social
Theory, 1969